Senior goaltender James Kalec and the hockey team's defense had a week to remember.
The Jumbos held their opponents to four combined goals in the three games played last week, earning two wins and suffering an overtime loss. Kalec made 113 saves over the span en route to earning co-NESCAC Player of the Week honors yesterday. The four-goal total over three consecutive games is the least that a Tufts team has allowed since 1999.
"We've been working on team defense in practice," senior tri-captain Greg O'Connell said. "In the [Jan. 4-5] Plattsburgh tournament, we just had some flaws in that area. But we've had good goaltending and smart defensive play and we've been able to limit opponents' shots."
On Sunday, the Jumbos played their last game of a successful five-game home stand against ECAC opponent Castleton State. The Spartans jumped out in front just 6:14 into the game. Going into the final period, the Jumbos were still in a 1-0 hole, had been outshot 24-14 and were shorthanded more often than Castleton, but Kalec and the defense kept the game close going into the final stanza.
"James has been playing amazing," senior tri-captain Ross Gimbel said. "He's been the backbone of the team so far, and the defense stepped it up."
The Jumbos quickly captured the momentum when sophomore Cory Korchin and senior Kurt Hertzog scored to take a 2-1 lead after 3:20. Both goals resulted from the Jumbos crashing the mouth of the net and finishing rebounds.
"It really sounds too simplistic saying 'just get shots off,' but sometimes we try to get too cute, and score these pretty goals," coach Brian Murphy said last week. "We just need to get off shots and get rebounds in traffic because there are a lot of good goalies in this league, and not all goals are going to be pretty."
Junior Greg McCarthy added a big insurance goal at 14:37, and then Hertzog added his second of the game and sixth of the season to ice a 4-1 victory. Hertzog's empty-netted short-handed goal was the Jumbos' first with a man disadvantage this season. It was the second straight Saturday in which Tufts scored four goals in the final period. Last week, a 2-2 game was turned into a 6-3 victory against St. Michaels after a four-goal final frame.
"In the first and second periods they were getting shots, but we were limiting their scoring chances," O'Connell said. "We needed to get shots on net, and wait for the breaks to come, and they did."
In spite of being outshot 39-24, the Jumbos improved to 6-7-1 overall to match their win total from last year. Gimbel attributed the win to the team's character.
"We kept a positive attitude," he said. "We knew if we kept the game close we'd have a chance. After losing in OT the night before, everyone was ready and hungry. In the third, we took a long look at each other and dug deep and pulled out the win."
The victory was a positive ending to a weekend with a tough beginning, as the Jumbos were handed a disappointing overtime loss on Friday by Skidmore. Freshman Lindsay Walker got Tufts on the board first, with Korchin assisting on the goal. The Thoroughbreds tied the game in the second period, and after the Jumbos failed to capitalize on two power-play opportunities in the third period, the game was sent into overtime knotted at a goal apiece.
Skidmore outshot Tufts 39-33 in regulation, but the Jumbos held the puck in their attacking zone to start overtime. After Tufts attempted and missed a couple of shots, Skidmore intercepted a pass to spark an odd-man rush. Sophomore Matt Czerkowicz, who assisted on the first Thoroughbred goal, netted the game-winner barely a minute into overtime.
"We lacked intensity," O'Connell said. "Skidmore didn't have a league win, and in the second and third periods they got better. They adjusted to our systems and executed."
The Jumbos fell to 3-4-1 in NESCAC/ECAC play, but evened up their record the following day. Kalec saved 38 shots in both weekend games. He improved his save percentage from .886 to .908, and now is fewer than 50 saves shy of the program's record, set by his predecessor Ben Crapser (E '05).
The Jumbos begin a road trip on Friday, and their final non-conference game comes against Bowdoin Saturday.
"Hopefully we'll have a good week of practice and prepare for Colby and Bowdoin, both nationally ranked teams," O'Connell said.
